What is a process server?

Litigation runs on notice: a person must know about proceedings before a court will hold them to deadlines or enforce orders against them. The process server exists to make that notice happen, lawfully, promptly and provably, even when the recipient would rather it did not.

What a process server actually does

On a typical instruction, the server verifies the address, attends at times the subject is likely to be present, confirms the identity of the person before handing over the documents, explains in plain terms what they are, and records the date, time, location and a description of the person served. The instruction ends with formal evidence: a certificate of service as standard, or a sworn affidavit where the court or the type of case requires it. Where a subject is evasive, the server's record of attempts becomes the foundation for an application to the court for alternative service.

What they serve

Everything litigation produces: claim forms and particulars, applications and orders, injunctions and non molestation orders, statutory demands, bankruptcy and winding up petitions, divorce applications, employment tribunal documents, notices under leases and contracts, and international documents passing through the UK. Some of these must by law be handed personally to the individual, which is exactly the work process servers exist for.

Process server, bailiff or High Court enforcement officer?

The roles are often confused. A process server delivers documents and proves it; they do not seize goods or enforce anything. County court bailiffs are court employees who can also serve some documents, though slowly. High Court enforcement officers act after judgment, enforcing what the court has already decided. If your task is getting documents into someone's hands with evidence to match, the process server is the specialist.

Choosing one

There is no licensing scheme, so look for the markers of accountability: membership of the Association of British Investigators, ISO certification, nationwide coverage, fixed fees and proof of service included. Tremark has served documents for law firms, insolvency practitioners and insurers for over three decades on exactly that basis.